Bad Blazer Ammo

[Manedwolf]

Blazer BRASS in .45 auto shoots for crap out of my Kimber Ultra. I've never experienced more FTF's with anything else.

Never had a problem. PT745 loves it.

I'd suggest having the gun looked at. Kimbers aren't automatically perfect.

And I would never, EVER buy "ammo in a can" at a gun show. How do you know you don't have Bad Eyesight Bubba's Handloads that might be twice safe chamber pressure or likely to hangfire or worse?

 

[scottw]

CCI RESPONDS; HERE IS THEIR ANSWER

I called CCI today and talked to Coy. I told him I was having a problem with a box of their ammo that I shot in my revolver. He told me the problem I was having before I could tell him. CCI is well are of the problem and I am going to try and quote the conversation as close as as I can in all fairness to CCI.

He told me that no ammo over 125gr should be shot in a light weight revolver and that only jacketed bullets should be shot. He stated that you cannot get a crimp tight enough on a heavy lead bullet to hold it in place during recoil in a light revolver. I was using 158gr LRN or Lead Round Nose. He also stated that the ammo requirements should be in the owners manual and with new guns stamped on the barrel. Coy stated that the owners manual should state that only jacketed bullets should be used.

I have a new Rossi and I looked in the manual and it said check the right side of the barrel, I did and nothing was there. I called Rossi and they had never heard of the problem and since my gun was rated for +P they did not put requirements on the barrel as my revolver could shoot any 38 spec.

This ammo was not purchased by me, it was purchased by a person who wanted to try out the pistol that I had for sale. Needless to say I lost the sale and now I know what to avoid in the future. All of the ammo that I shoot is jacketed and I have never had a problem and now I know why.

 

[scottw]

CCI stubby ammo

I got call from CCI informing me that they produce a load of the +P type to be used in 2" 38 special small frame for a defense load. It is a 135gr (I know that this is heavier than their 125gr limit) Gold Dot HP w/ an extra deep cavity. He did warn that these should only be used in the 5 shot small revolver as 6 shots could have the same problem with the lead comming out. Their words not mine. These shells do have brass cases. As I understand these are a jacketed bullet.

Hope this helps someone.

Now let the fun begin.

 

[ccw9mm]

I called CCI today and talked to Coy. I told him I was having a problem with a box of their ammo that I shot in my revolver. He told me the problem I was having before I could tell him. CCI is well are of the problem and I am going to try and quote the conversation as close as as I can in all fairness to CCI.

He told me that no ammo over 125gr should be shot in a light weight revolver and that only jacketed bullets should be shot. He stated that you cannot get a crimp tight enough on a heavy lead bullet to hold it in place during recoil in a light revolver. I was using 158gr LRN or Lead Round Nose.

Hm. A bit of a self-serving response, it sounds like. I've shot all kinds of bullets in a S&W 442 Airweight .38spl revolver and a Ruger SP101 .357 revolver. Including lighter and heavier loads. In semi-autos, with amazing frequency it's CCI Blazer alum-cartridged rounds that seem to be used when jam-o-matic sessions exist. Not saying this is the cause of the problems you had, but it seems awfully glib of them to claim it's the weight of the bullets when plenty of other mfrs do it without trouble.

 

[Doug.38PR]

*in song* "creeyeeyeepy crawlers"

Is there such a thing as "good" Blazer ammo?

 

[dragongoddess]

Yep there .45 ammo is great. It's all I use for practice and I do practice quite a bit. Plus I use it in these IPSC matches. Of course I do clean my weapon after every use and if there has been some time since last using the weapon I will clean it again before using it.

 

[Phil DeGraves]

I have had similar problems with Remington 246 grn 44spl. Remington Brass is very thin and does not grab hold of the bullet tightly. This was in a steel frame S&W 624 and it was with brass cases. I have had failures to fire with the Blazer ammo in auto pistols - bad primers. And that is with Kimbers, Colts, Sigs, Glocks and Smiths. With their new boxer priming in the Blazer ammo (it used to be Berdan), they may have fixed the problem, but I'll never know because I won't shoot it again. I have had problems with 38 Blazer as well, though not the problem described here. The case would back out on discharge and jam the revolver (a Uberti 1873 clone). No more Blazers for me.
That being said, I'd have to agree with Johnksa about "American Ammo" being the worst ever.

 

[shield20]

Despite not in keeping with the OP, I also had major problems with .45 Blazer Brass in a Colt XSE. No issues with the same BB in .40SW.

Apologies Scott - but info worth sharing.

 

[Manedwolf]

Is there such a thing as "good" Blazer ammo?

Yes. Blazer Brass works for me, and unlike WWB, the gun doesn't look like I've been burning charcoal in it when I'm done.

 

[JohnKSa]

He told me that no ammo over 125gr should be shot in a light weight revolver and that only jacketed bullets should be shot. He stated that you cannot get a crimp tight enough on a heavy lead bullet to hold it in place during recoil in a light revolver.

I can see WHY he would say that, but I'm gonna call BS on his answer.

I believe that CCI can't get a crimp tight enough with an aluminum case to hold a heavy soft lead bullet without a crimp groove in place during recoil in a light revolver, but that's not the same as saying you can't get a heavy lead bullet to stay in place in a light revolver.

Also, I think the absolute prohibition on anything over 125gr in a light revolver is a bit over the top. Which becomes obvious since, as you point out, they recommended a 135grain bullet in their second call.

Good information--again, thanks for posting it. I'd say it's a good thing to know if you're buying plinking ammo for a small revolver and a VERY good thing to know before you load up an SD gun. (Of course 158LRN isn't a great choice for that anyway, but I've heard of folks doing stranger things.)

FWIW, I'll still buy Blazer, but only with jacketed bullets and absolutely not for self-defense, and I can't say that I'm happy with Blazer's response. If they know this is a problem, they either need to fix it or put a warning on the box.

 

[scottw]

test are done

I just finished over 100 rounds of 148gr wad cutters through a light frame 38 special at near max. loads without one problem. Not one lead bullet came forward in the case. I guess at this point you need to come to your own conclusions about Blazer ammo.

 

[ilbob]

I would say conservatively that I have shot over 2000 rounds of Blazer Brass 9mm 115gr ball this year and had ZERO problems with it. For less than $110/K this stuff has been excellent range and practice ammo. As far as revolvers go I have shot 200 rounds of .44mag and .357/.38 Blazer Aluminum and had zero problems other than the above mentioned dirty ammo which isn't a problem for me. I rate Blazer Brass 9mm as good as Winchester White Box.

I can get Winchester White box at Wally World for about what you are paying for Blazer. I'd just as soon get something reloadable.

 

[kevin davis]

blazer

I bought a box of this for a Cz 75B 9mm and had numerous failures of ejection and reloading. I switched to brass cases and had no further problems. I would not get blazer again for this gun. I have used them in a Dan wesson .357 revolver with 8" barrel and have not had any problems as noted before.

 

[JohnKSa]

I just finished over 100 rounds of 148gr wad cutters through a light frame 38 special at near max. loads without one problem.

Hmmm... Could it be that the Blazer tech was... WRONG when he said "you cannot get a crimp tight enough on a heavy lead bullet to hold it in place during recoil in a light revolver"?

Sounds to me like Blazer should stop selling the heavy lead bullet revolver rounds in aluminum cases if they can't get them to work. Regardless of WHAT you're shooting them in, if thumb pressure will push the bullet in, there's a problem.

I believe I'll restrict my Blazer consumption to only jacketed rounds.

 

[scottw]

todays test on crimp

One thing that I did not tell anyone in the first post was the Blaser factory told me to always shot all rounds in the cylinder. They say that in time if you leave a round or two in the cylinder that there is a chance that the lead will have a chance of comming loose and this includes jacketed bullets no matter how light the bullet. Today I went to the range and loaded all 5 cylinders and marked the number 5 shell and left it in for almost 100 rounds. I did check it after each 4 shots and after I was finished the bullet was still in the case in the ame position as when I started. My conclusion is Blaser can't get a tight crimp. You guys can read all of my post and make your own conclusions. The bullet iI used was a 125gr.fn.

 

[epijunkie67]

What was happening was when you shot 2 rounds the recoil would cause the lead to come out of the case and extend out beyond the cylinder and the lead would cause the cylinder not to turn as the tip would hit the frame. You could open the revolver and push the lead back in and finish shooting. If you cannot open the revolver you can push the lead back in from the front of the cylinder far enough to allow you to open the cylinder. Last time I will ever tell someone to buy Blazer.

Please be careful trying this. If the bullet is loose enough in the case for you to force it back with finger pressure then you could very easily force it too deep without realizing it. Even if a round has the correct amount of powder and the correct bullet weight it can still develop dangerously high pressure if the bullet is set too deeply in the case. I think pushing a bullet back into the case from the front of the revolver and then firing it could be bad juu-juu.

 

[vesmcd]

epijunkie67, if the bullet is loose enough to push back into the case with your finger tip, I don't think there is going to be a pressure problem.

 

[Rokman]

I have never had a promblem with Blazer aluminum, or Blazer brass. My pistols eat this stuff up. Not my first choice for target ammo though.

 

[JohnKSa]

The bullet iI used was a 125gr.fn.

It would interesting to see what would happen doing the same test but using the heavier, lead wadcutter bullets you shot in the first test. (Especially since I don't have to buy the ammo! ) I'm betting you'll see some crimp-creep but not as much as you experienced with the Blazer aluminum.

My conclusion is Blaser can't get a tight crimp.

I don't think anybody can get as good a crimp with aluminum as they can with brass. I'm kind of surprised that Blazer doesn't put a warning on the box for their unjackted bullet aluminum cased rounds.

 

[vesmcd]

I went scrounging around in my junk ammo and found some Blazer 38spl 158gr LRN/alum case I've had for at least 12 years. Tried to push the bullets in with my thumb,wouldn't budge. However, a couple of Blazer 115gr FMJ/alum case 9mm's I had would move. I'll try the 38's in my Charter Arms Undercover snubby and see what happens.

Edit: The 38's have a heavy crimp, but they are crimpped over a shoulder on the bullet, not in a normal crimp groove.

 

[evan price]

ILBOB: Blazer Brass is reloadable. I find no appreciable differences in performance, accuracy, or dirtiness between my Wal*Mart WWB and Blazer Brass, and have so far had ZERO FTF/FTE in either ammunition.

Around here WWB is $11.88/100 or $118.80/thousand. WM recently clearanced their Blazer Brass 9mm for $5/50 and I bought all they had.

When I want a 100-mile round trip I can get Blazer Brass for $5.49/50 or $109.80/thousand.

Needless to say I shoot a lot of both, and some MagTech also.

 

[Smallwood]

Blazer Ammo 9mm

I have this box of blazer 9mm alum case ammo,Out of 7 shots ,one went off,the rest all were struck Hard,its 9mm luger 115gr TMJ ,also has what looks like a lot number on the box end it says 03509 and f18d1, I tried this ammo in my smith and wesson 459,my Walter P-1 ,my HK 9mm and my cz52 pistols,I got one round to fire,Personaly I really do not like haveing that many misfires and have to wait and see if there gonna go off or not,or when,I will not put this ammo in anything I will ever shoot again,obviously there is some type of problem,and its a dangerous one. If anyone has that Ph number handy for CCI ,I will call them and send this box back to them as Im not going to use it.

 

[SDC]

This is something that's known to happen in lightweight revolvers with MANY different loads, not just CCI Blazers; because snubbies (especially alloy-framed ones) are so light, firing them makes them act like kinetic bullet pullers, where the bullets in the chambered cartridges try to stay where they are, and everything else is snapped rearward by the recoil, causing the bullets to creep out of the cases. This effect is magnified the longer that round stays in the cylinder while firing, so you definitely don't want to fire 2 or 3 rounds, then top the cylinder up and fire the remainder.

 

[Hokkmike]

I tried out my first Blazer in 9mm the other day. No problems through my P-6. My gun guy says Blazer accounts for 90% of his sales. WhiteBox at Wally-World is still cheaper!

 

[JWarren]

Blazer BRASS in .45 auto shoots for crap out of my Kimber Ultra. I've never experienced more FTF's with anything else.

Stay tuned:

I have a box of Blazer .45 I need to burn in my RIA 1911 as part of the break in. I may get a chance to do it today. I'll let you know how it works in that one.


-- John